By Dan Klepal
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The new skyline immediately after the implosion.
(Photo by Ernest Coleman)
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Cincinnati may be trading one ballpark for another, but the city's signature postcard will be redrawn.
A well-known image of Cincinnati features the Ohio River and Cinergy Field in the foreground, with the city's office towers as the backdrop.
Most of that skyline remains with Sunday's implosion of Cinergy. But the new skyline features a smaller version of a ballpark opening toward the river. Eventually, it will include the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center museum, 51 acres of park space and a possible new riverfront neighborhood.
"Now, instead of one stadium that shapes the view, we'll have two stadiums opening toward the river that frame the view of Cincinnati," said Nick Vehr, vice president of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. "It will put great pressure on the community to finish the picture. No one will be happy with Freedom Center standing above surface parking lots."
Officials say the new ballpark will strike a different pose in the city's revised landscape. Much smaller than Cinergy and without its symmetry, Great American Ball Park - to open in March - will be one element of many in the foreground of the picture.
"After the implosion, instantaneously, Great American Ball Park will be visible from a lot of areas it hasn't been," said Mike Sieving, construction executive for Hamilton County. "It will be more of a bookend - not the visually dominant element Cinergy was - because of the scale of the building and the way it is ... opening toward the river."
"For the first time, people are going to understand how much room there is on the riverfront," added Bob Bedinghaus, the former Hamilton County commissioner who was instrumental in the passage of the Hamilton County sales tax increase that financed Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium.
"For the last 30 years, the whole east side of the suspension bridge has been blocked."
Already, the new views are gaining fans.
"It looks a whole lot better," Ken Tuemler, 47, of Taylor Mill said Sunday. "I never really liked that big concrete bowl anyway. And now you can see the skyline a lot better."
"It doesn't look as cluttered," added Neil Hollingsworth, 32, of Fort Thomas.
Donna Vlasis of Taylor Mill said it will take some time to adjust to the new-look riverfront. But not too long.
"The skyline looks pretty awesome right now," she said immediately after the implosion.
"I thought it looked great before because we were so used to seeing the stadium. It was our riverfront landmark. But with it down, the view is really beautiful."
Cindi Andrews and Patrick Crowley contributed to this report.
E-mail dklepal@enquirer.com
SEE CINERGY IMPLOSION
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